Cost-cutting is back on the Formula
One agenda in a big way, and it’s not
just about the engines.
The European Grand Prix took place
against the backdrop of a country
suffering an extreme financial crisis with
unemployment rates of 24 percent, and
the climate meant that F1’s response to
the West’s financial collapse was high on
the agenda.
Speaking to the media over the
weekend, a number of senior team
personnel explained the second-wave
impact that the financial crisis was having
on Formula One, the first wave having
been the manufacturer exodus in late
2009.
“The economic crisis is not just this
year,” said Caterham’s Riad Asmat. “It’s
been around for the last few years. But
the fact is that it affects everyone around
the world and business-wise obviously
Formula One. As a team commercially
you will be affected because the
companies that want to be part of it will
have to reduce their marketing budgets,
so on and so forth.”
HRT team principal Luis Perez-Sala has
been fighting to find sponsorship in a
cash-strapped Spain:
“Of course it’s touching us in some way,”
he said. “We are getting less money
from sponsors; you have less money to
spend on the cars, on the team. ... We
have economic problems in my house –
in my team! I think it is for everybody,
economic problems, I think not only in
Europe. Europe now is focussing on the
situation but it’s something that we have
and of course it’s going to touch us in
some way.”
But Toro Rosso team principal Franz
Tost took a more global perspective:
“For sure it’s not good,” he said; “the
economic crisis in Europe and we are
also working in Formula One to come
down with the costs. But thanks to
Bernie we are not only racing in Europe,
we are racing in areas where there is
some money and no economic crisis:
like India, like Australia, like Canada, like
Brazil and like Saudi Arabia, with Bahrain
and Abu Dhabi.
“We go to Russia, we are in China and
I think that’s very, very important for
Formula One, especially for the sponsors
to be present all over the world,” Tost
continued. “And this also prevents a
major influence from the economic side
on Formula One. Because all over the
world, hopefully there is no crisis.”
Despite Tost’s confidence that F1’s
global reach could yet be its saviour, all
agreed that the current financial climate
made some form of cost-cutting an
imperative.
“We’ve had numerous meetings on
this matter but one thing is for sure is
that everyone agrees that we need to
reduce costs,” Asmat confirmed. “I’ve
been in this for two and a half years
and I can see the level of exorbitant
areas that could be managed better. The
points are taken, we have discussed it.
There are some ideas bandied around.
The groups that are related to those
areas will be talking to each other and
hopefully soon enough we do come to
a conclusion, but we have a position,
obviously, and we will support anything
with regard to resource restriction, we
will support that all the while. I think
there has been some improvement over
the last two years from previous times,
but there is a lot more we can do, I think,
going for ward.”
One cost-cutting suggestion made
this weekend was a possible ban on tyre
warmers in an attempt to reduce freight
costs. While Pirelli are confident that
they could develop suitable tyres given
enough time, banning tyre warmers
seems an odd decision when teams still
choose to freight the contents of their
hospitality suites – right down to the
bottled water – around the globe.
COST-CUTTING TALK GATHERS PACE
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